Metal components generally include various selected amounts of ductility, strength, internal stresses, and other generally known physical characteristics. These characteristics may be measured using various techniques, such as stress testing and embrittlement testing to determine and measure the various physical characteristics of the metal. Also, various standards have been determined, such that testing results can be compared to other metal components.
Various processes, which are performed on the metal, may change the physical characteristics and require re-testing or determining of whether the processes have altered the known characteristics. For example, a particular metal or metal alloy component may be chosen depending upon its known physical characteristics. Nevertheless, these known physical characteristics can be altered by processing the metal, such as painting, heating, cleaning, and other various prostheses that use various chemicals.
One form of degradation or activity that may alter the physical characteristics of a metal is hydrogen embrittlement. Generally, hydrogen embrittlement occurs when hydrogen ions are able to migrate into the crystal structure of the metal and alter it. For example, water or other chemical species may break down into ionic components, thus releasing ionic hydrogen. The ionic hydrogen may enter the metal and collect therein or destroy bonds of the various metallic ions. The collection of the hydrogen ions or the degradation of the metallic bonds alters the physical characteristics of the metal or metal alloy. Therefore, the physical characteristics may be substantially changed, thus no longer providing a material of known physical characteristics.
Therefore, it is desirable to determine whether a particular chemical process alters or has altered a metal component. For example, hydrogen embrittlement may make a metal less ductile and therefore able to endure less stress before cracking and reducing the strength of the metal. Therefore, it may be desirable to determine before a component is formed of a particular material whether that material is subject to hydrogen embrittlement because of a certain chemical process to be applied to the material.
Generally, hydrogen embrittlement may be determined by testing an unprocessed metal test blank and testing a processed metal blank or test component. One example is ASTM F-519, which determines embrittling potential of a selected process. Using the ASTM standard, both a chemically treated or processed and non-chemically treated or unprocessed metal specimen is tested to determine whether a significant difference between the component, which has been processed and the component, which has not been processed. The system, however, generally requires an extended period of time and at least 200 hours for the test to be completed. Several days must be dedicated before the determination of embrittlement potential of a selected process. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a process that is generally quicker and cheaper than such an extensive test.
Another standard is the European Standard EN2831, as described in Hydrogen Embrittlement of Steels-Test by Slow Bending, USEN 2831:1933, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a standard and test for determining embrittlement of metal components. Generally, in the European Standard EN2831, a metal component is tested without being processed and another component is tested after being processed. The components are bent, generally manually, to induce cracking of the component. A visual determination is made to determine the failure of the component and the propagation of a crack. After a crack appears the angle the component has reached is hand measured to determine a bend angle. If the bend angle between the processed and unprocessed component is substantially different, then where the processed component includes a smaller bend angle, then the process is determined to embrittle the metal. The difference in the bend angle can be used to determine a selected embrittlement potential. Nevertheless, such a standard is generally subjective to human perception and error of both the crack and the measured angle. Nevertheless, such a bending test can be used to determine a selected hydrogen embrittlement potential.